Warm Melancholy
by Lethe Laguz
Summary: Post-RD. After Elincia and Geoffrey are wed, Lucia and Leanne reflect on their feelings for the queen. Nothing will ever be the same…except them. Various yuri, het, and Lucia Leanne friendship. Oneshot. Edited slightly.


Title: Warm Melancholy

Summary: After Elincia and Geoffrey are wed, Lucia and Leanne reflect on their feelings for the queen. Nothing will ever be the same…except them. Various pairings. Oneshot.

Pairings: GeoffreyxElincia, LuciaxElincia, LeannexElincia, various cameos

Notes: This was fun to write. Yuri in general needs more fandom love. Leanne was hard to characterize though—any critique on the characterizations, or the story in general, would be highly appreciated.

Edit: Thanks for the reviews everyone :D I've now edited it to change the tense and add a bit more Leanne.

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"Why did you love her?"

There is a frown on Leanne's face as she asks the question. Lucia is not smiling either—Leanne's hand has gone cold in hers. Leanne had said 'did'…but 'did' is the past tense, and this is the present.

Lucia does not want to answer. This isn't something they discuss—it's something that's meant to hide in the corners of both of their minds, joining them together at the same time that it creates a wall between them. It's not meant to be dragged out in the open.

"Why do you love her?" Leanne asks again, but in present tense this time, Lucia notices. Lucia does not speak, but she sighs, and she thinks, and she remembers.

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Before the war, while they were still both growing up, Lucia and Elincia had sparred every day, just when the sun was at its highest point in the sky and so was in the best position to bathe their practicing with warmth. Elincia was warmth enough, her eyes always soft even when determined. Lucia made certain to take breaks at regular intervals and ask if her best friend was alright.

"Perhaps," she suggested, "you should leave the fighting to your knights."

"But I want to learn to be strong like you, Lucia!" Elincia said. "Besides, I enjoy spending time with you." Admiration and happiness shone through in her voice, and Lucia smiled despite herself.

"Yes, milady, but I would never permit myself to put you in any danger, so does it matter if you can fight?"

"I simply want to learn…and of course I shall not be in any danger! I'm never going to be attacked, after all," Elincia said with a tilt of her head and a slight frown, and Lucia wanted to bottle her innocence up and hide it somewhere where the outside world could never taint it.

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Lucia's answer does not come. Instead, she asks, "…Why did you?"

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Leanne could feel it deep inside Elincia's heart—the woman had had to grow up within the last few years enough to lead a nation, and the pressure had been slowly crushing her. The woman before her had a resolve as strong as a castle—although the queen was currently collapsed on the ground and tears stained her face, Leanne would never call Elincia weak. Elincia's arms were encircled around Leanne's waist, and Leanne petted her hair and smiled as the queen sobbed into her dress. Herons are peaceful, and so Leanne did not wish harm upon the man who caused the tears by stirring up rebellion, but she vowed to help the queen to stop him in any way she can until Elincia could smile once more, too.

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"Does it matter why?"

"Does much matter?'

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Elincia and Geoffrey glided up the aisle looking perfectly elegant, and Lucia knew her brother would make a fantastic king. The young couple said their vows and exchanged rings. Lucia forced herself to watch and smile as they kissed—she was happy for her brother and her best friend, and she was happy that a time had come when her queen could smile again. It is these thoughts that stopped Lucia from running up the aisle and objecting, or perhaps running out of the church altogether—in either case, such ridiculous actions were not options. As the newlyweds gazed at each other lovingly, Lucia caught Leanne's eye from across the aisle, and she knew the heron could read her thoughts. She was not ashamed, for she could see herself reflected in Leanne's eyes, and she knew that they were the same.

Later at the reception, Elincia giggled and tossed the bouquet behind her. Lucia caught it in clammy hands, smiling wryly at the irony. Elincia and Geoffrey beamed her way and Bastian grinned with an air of confidence at her. She smiled at all of them, but in her mind she had turned away and tossed the bouquet aside. She knew she was not marrying any while soon.

Leanne caught her eye once more, and though Lucia was not a mind reader like the heron she could see the sadness reflected there.

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"A lot matters. A lot."

Lucia knows Leanne is right, but she does not speak.

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Leanne often entered Lucia's chambers in the morning to converse with her; her grasp of modern words was coming along nicely, and Lucia helped her when she came across a word she did not understand. Lucia's hair was growing out again, and Leanne often expressed desire to brush it; as Leanne was the princess and Lucia the knight, Lucia politely declined, as she knew that Leanne could see into her mind that the declining was not a rejection, but rather an acknowledgement of their positions.

Leanne enjoyed talking to Lucia; the woman was vibrant even when Leanne could feel the sadness in her heart, and she was strong in both the mental and physical senses. Leanne watched Lucia train sometimes, her blade dancing under a sun that somehow feels less warm than before. A piece of the duel was missing; as Leanne peered into Lucia's mind, she saw a flash of green, and she understood.

Leanne often had tea with Elincia in the afternoon. One such day, when the sun was bright, they sat outdoors nibbling on cookies and enjoying the sound of birds chirping. Leanne watched Elincia carefully, partly because she liked watching Elincia and partly because Elincia seemed more down than usual. Just the day before, Elincia had been chattering happily about her new husband, about how wonderful he was. Leanne liked that Elincia was happy, but it made her sad to think about the two of them all the same. This day, though, Elincia was staring at her mug as though deep in thought, and stirring her tea far more than was necessary; the sugar cubes had long since dissolved.

"Why are you sad?" Leanne asked after a while of watching the queen.

"Oh, I'm fine!" The queen said with a smile that Leanne could tell was forced even without reading Elincia's mind. "I was just thinking, that's all."

Leanne frowned. "Why do you pretend to be fine when you aren't?"

"That's right, you can read my mind, can't you? I suppose it's because…I'm a queen, so I must keep my head up even when others are down, so nobody else is affected by my mood…no, I think I would still keep my head up whether I was a queen or not."

This was why Leanne loved Elincia. Her caring, the way she was always bright like a beacon of hope...it was all magnificent. Yet Elincia's favor went to another, and they were separated further by race and gender. Still, Leanne would be like Elincia and keep her head up and focused on the queen rather than on herself.

"You never said…why you were sad."

"Oh, that…it's not a matter of concern," Elincia assured her. But as Leanne read the queen's heart, she couldn't help but notice a flash of long, blue hair waving in the breeze, and though it pained her this time, she understood once more.

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"You shouldn't push her away."

"I don't." Lucia finds it tiring talking to Leanne. She knows it is not possible to lie.

"Yes, you do. I know, because she's lonely."

"…Is she?"

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Elincia and Geoffrey laid in bed one warm night, their bodies precisely one foot away from each other. Geoffrey stroked Elincia's hand and watched as she pretended to read a book that was in her free hand. She sighed as she put down the book and turned to him.

"Geoffrey, your sister has been very down-trodden as of late…is something going on I should know about? I do wish I knew how to help her…" Elincia trailed off and sighed. It seemed she was as helpless as ever, even at making her dear friend feel better.

"I noticed it as well. I wish I knew what's wrong with her, but whenever I ask about it she smiles and shakes her head. I insist she not bottle things up, but…"

Elincia sighed again. "That is very much like her. She's very strong, isn't she?"

Geoffrey squeezed her hand as he caught the wistful sound in her voice. "Yes, but I think you're every bit as strong as her." Elincia smiled but didn't look like she believed him. "In any case, I assume her pride is getting in the way of confessing what the matter is."

"That is also very much like her."

There was silence, and then a change of subject. "The festival is tomorrow."

"Yes," Elincia says, "Everybody will be coming up to visit us for it." She smiles in anticipation—she is happiest when everybody is together.

She only wished her friend could be happy, too.

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"I'm happy for them. Both of them."

"That was a lie." It's not possible to lie to Leanne. Lucia drops her hand to her side.

"I saw you watching them…at the festival," Leanne persists. She is much better at her English now, but she still stumbles sometimes.

"...It's my duty to be happy," Lucia responds. "Happy for them, I mean."

Leanne is stubborn. She grabs Lucia's hand again. "Yes, that's your duty, but what about you, Lucia?"

"It's not my duty to think about me."

"I didn't ask about your duty."

"Why don't you go back to Naesala?"

Leanne frowns again. "…There are many things we need to finish, Lucia. All of us."

Indeed there are.

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It was a grand festival. Streamers and magical lights of every color available were strung on the ceiling, and couples in suits and ball gowns swept over the marble floor. Lucia had just redirected Ilyana to the food table (where she noticed that Mia already was—the persistent youth asked Lucia for a duel at every opportunity, saying something about an arch-rival). Mia began chatting happily with Ilyana, who was eating enough for every person at the festival. Over in the corner, Ike and his tactician were talking, and it did not appear that either one was particularly enthused at the thought of joining the others on the dance floor. Marcia was dancing with Kieran, who was tripping over her feet every other second. She looked annoyed but continued dancing with him.

Lucia glanced over all of this, happy that everyone is having a good time despite herself. She found Leanne and follows her gaze to Elincia and Geoffrey, who, as expected, were dancing in the center of the room, Elincia looking bashful in an elegant white dress, Geoffrey looking stunning in a tuxedo. Both of them had spent all morning preparing themselves for the ball. Lucia helped, of course. When she asked her brother why he was spending so much time getting ready, he said it was because he wanted to look good enough for Elincia. Lucia had smiled and insisted he was good enough; as much as her jealousy wanted to keep her from believing that, it couldn't.

After a time, Elincia parted with Geoffrey and swept gracefully over to Lucia, who forced a smile. "Isn't this a wonderful festival? I'm so glad everyone is having a good time," Elincia said with a smile that was far more genuine than Lucia's.

"Indeed it is," Lucia answered and perhaps she's a masochist because she saids, "you and my brother make wonderful dance partners."

Elincia's face brightened even more. The room felt warm to Lucia, and she suddenly wanted an escape. "Oh, I'm so glad you think so! Why aren't you dancing with Bastian?" Elincia looked confused. Lucia wanted to bottle her up once again—oh, to be innocent and think that Bastian held Lucia's attention the way Elincia did!

Lucia laughed. "Oh, well you know him, he'd make quite too much of a show out of it for my liking."

Elincia giggled. "Yes, that does sound like him."

They watched the others for a little while, and then Elincia said, "Oh, Lucia, do you remember when we were children and used to dance with each other at festivals such as these? Wasn't it such fun?" She held out her hand. The room was even warmer now, but Lucia went cold. She was tired of thinking deceitful thoughts about innocent things like dancing with a childhood friend. Once again she had the urge to run out of the room, but instead she took the opportunity to take Elincia's warm hand in hers and spin her around the room.

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"Are you going to finish them?" Leanne asks.

The swordsmaster wonders. Some things are better left unsaid—things like love, and betrayal, and slips of duty. Leanne is peering into her mind right now, she knows; she does not mind, for they might as well be the same person, the same desires, the same determination. The back of Leanne's hand is warm. Lucia is cold. Does she have the strength to resolve her problems? No, the question is, does she want to?

Perhaps she does, and perhaps she doesn't. Either way, it's all the same to her.


End file.
